Action Philosophers! Explained

Action Philosophers! was a self-published comic book series by artist Ryan Dunlavey and writer Fred Van Lente, which was awarded a Xeric Grant in 2004,^[1] leading to Action Philosophers! # 1's publication in April 2005.

The series focused on a concise biography of some of the most notable philosophers and their ideas. To quote the book's homepage:^[2]

ACTION PHILOSOPHERS! is a comic book series detailing the lives and thoughts of history's A-list brain trust in a hip and humorous way that proves that philosophy is not just the province of boring tweed-enveloped college professors.

The series concluded with issue # 9, published in September 2007. The series was also collected into various self-published paperback collections. Dark Horse Comics published a deluxe hardcover collection of the series with new material in October, 2014.^[3]

Reception

The American Library Association included Action Philosophers vol. 1 in its 2007 Great Graphic Novels for Teens booklist.^[4] The series was nominated for a 2007 Ignatz Outstanding Debut Award^[5] and received a positive review from Philosophy Now.^[6]

Issue summary

• 1. 1
  : - Nietzsche, Bodhidharma, & Plato: "Wrestling Superstar of Ancient Greece!", featuring one of the series' most famous lines, "PLATO SMASH!"
• 1. 2
  : - The "All Sex Special", featuring Ayn Rand, Thomas Jefferson, & Saint Augustine.
• 1. 3
  : - "Self Help for Stupid Ugly Losers" featuring Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, & Joseph Campbell.
• 1. 4
  : - "World Domination Handbook" featuring Karl Marx, Niccolò Machiavelli, & The Kabbalah.
• 1. 5
  : - "Hate the French" featuring René Descartes, Jean-Paul Sartre, & Jacques Derrida.
• 1. 6
  : - "The People's Choice" featuring Soren Kierkegaard, St. Thomas Aquinas, & Ludwig Wittgenstein.
• 1. 7
  : - "It's all Greek to you" featuring The Pre-Socratics, Aristotle, & Epictetus.
• 1. 8
  : - "Senseless Violence Special" featuring Kant, Schopenhauer, Hegel, & John Stuart Mill.
• 1. 9
  : - "The Lightning Round", the final issue featuring Diogenes the Cynic, Lao Tzu, Michel Foucault, David Hume, Confucius, George Berkeley, Francis Bacon, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, Mary Wollstonecraft, Baruch Spinoza and Gottfried Leibniz.

Collected editions

Title	Material collected	ISBN
Action Philosophers! Giant-size Thing 1	Action Philosophers #1-3
Action Philosophers! Giant-size Thing 2	Action Philosophers #4-6
Action Philosophers! Giant-size Thing 3	Action Philosophers #7-9
The More Than Complete Action Philosophers!	Action Philosophers" #1-9, plus new content
Action Philosophers!	Published by Dark Horse Comics, reprints "More Than Complete…", with a new story and historical material, hardcover format

External links

• Official series website, featuring free issue previews
• Interview with Fred and Ryan at comiXology on Action Philosophers and Comic Book Comics
• BamKaPow.com's interview, also examining the creative team's post-AP! projects
• Official Action Philosophers! message board
• Philosophy Now's review
• Interview with Indie Comics News
• HollywoodJesus.com Review

Notes and References

1. Web site: Xeric Foundation Comic Book Self-Publishing Grants for 2004 . Xericfoundation.org . 2012-11-16 . 2019-12-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191203172532/http://www.xericfoundation.org/comicbooks/2004.html . dead .
2. http://www.eviltwincomics.com/action/index.php the book's homepage
3. Web site: Action Philosophers! HC . darkhorse.com . 2014-12-10.
4. Web site: 2007 Great Graphic Novels for Teens . 30 July 2007 . ala.org . 2017-06-20.
5. Web site: SPX announces Ignatz Nominees . Newsarama.com . 2010-04-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090126033151/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=84016 . 2009-01-26 . dead .
6. Web site: Action Philosophers! by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey . Philosophy Now . 2010-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20100415153920/http://www.philosophynow.org/issue57/57snider.htm. 15 April 2010 . live.